February 2025
Coming Events
All events are held at our clubrooms unless otherwise specified.
FEBRUARY
: The clubrooms are open on the second and fourth Thursday evenings of the month from 7:30pm until
and EVERY Saturday afternoon from 4:30pm until 6:30pm. Our Spares Dept & Library are open during the
Chairman’s Report
Happy New Year to you all. I hope Santa treated you all to your liking, and the year ahead brings many events for you to enter and enjoy.
Our Christmas Pot Luck Dinner, 70th Birthday Celebration and presentation to Norman and Pat Dewhurst on their retirement from organising the Mid Week Tourer runs, drew a crowd of over seventy. A great variety of food was supplemented by the usual ham on the bone supplied by the branch and preceded the presentation to Norman & Pat and the cutting of the 70th Birthday Cake, supplied and iced by myself and cut by Life Members Norman Dewhurst and Barry Robert and Past Chairmen, John Campbell, Alan Price, Martin Spicer and myself. Russel McAlpine was unable to attend and had sent in his apology. Norman gave a very good summary of the formation of our Branch and the events that have followed over the last 70 years. Listening to this, we can be proud of our Branch and the former members who paved the way for our Branch to be the fine club it is to belong to today.
Following dessert, and a joke from Santa (Peter Alderdice), it was prezzie time. Along with Mrs Claus (Jodi Tomlin) and Elfie (Rodger Ball) presents were handed out. A great night was had by all.
Jodi Tomlin stood in for Martin Spicer for the New Year’s Day Fish and Chip Run. After the promised story from Jodi, the large number attending left the Jolly Farmer at Drury for the country drive to Kaiaua.
By the time this Bulletin is released, a number of our Motorcycle Members will be attending this year’s National Motorcycle Rally hosted by Manawatu Branch. I’ m sure there will be many stories to be heard on their return.
Our own Annual Veteran Rally is on 8th February. This year the rally will be held in West Auckland and plotted by myself. I’ve ordered a fine day. And with the lunch venue being the Swanson RSA, the day promises to be a great success. (The Entry Form is on the email that delivered this Bulletin.)
Happy, safe motoring everyone. Shaaran.
Club Captain’s Log
Happy New Year!
Thanks to all those who attended the New Year’s Day Run, looks like a good day was had by all.
This month’s club run is being organised by Wayne and Carrie Roberts, it would be great to see a good number out in support see you on Sunday 23rd Feb at Manurewa Botannical Gardens, Hill Rd, Manurewa, a café and toilets are available onsite. The run will end in Maraetai Beach for lunch either in a cafes or maybe a picnic on the beach. Just how you enjoy summer.
I really encourage you to get out and make the most of events that are being organised by our branch, our close neighbours and branches further afield. There is plenty to choose from so there will be something to suit and apart from turning over your motor, you get to enjoy the company of like minded people.
Make sure you have the date marked down for our Autumn Tour plus the Thermette Challenge on 29th and 30th March – it will be a great weekend of socialising and motoring. Loads of fun!
See you out on the road somewhere!
Tracey
Saturday, April 5th
From 7:30 pm
Flares & Flowers
Fun Social Night
60’s Music — ”Best Dressed” Prizes — Door Prize Time to practice your dance moves!! Bar Open — Free Entry — Bring a Supper Plate to share
Thermette Challenge & Autumn Tour
29 & 30 March 2025
A TOUR for ALL members.
A fun weekend is offered. Take part or witness the competition of cooking and serving from a Thermette. Challenge will be held at the Clubrooms followed by a light meal together: Saturday 29th, from 3:00 pm
Then join us for a leisurely Run on Sunday 30th. (There is an option to be competitive for those that like to put their thinking caps on?)
ALL club eligible vehicles are welcome to participate.
The tour ends at a member’s property in South Auckland for Afternoon Tea where you can mingle together and dissect the drive.
We look forward to your participation.
Entry Form is on the email that delivered you this Bulletin.
Rugg (Member)
Phone: 09 8261425, e-mail: rod.rugg@nzwrs.com Postal address: P.O. Box 19272, Avondale, Auckland 1746
Library Notes
This month we would like to acknowledge a collection of books from member John Caulfield. These are currently being sorted and those not already in the library will soon be added to our shelves and catalogue.
Last month we acquired a copy of “MG Century - 100 years Safety Fast!” published in 2024 to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the MG marque. This very impressive book is by the well-known MG expert and motoring historian David Knowlesthe title is a tribute to the famous slogan that first appeared in September 1930. The author has recorded numerous interesting anecdotes, including how Ceil Kimber settled on this marketing slogan.
The story begins with his arrival as William Morris’s new sales manager for the rapidly growing range of Morris Cars. Shortly after his commencement, The Morris Garage, previously called the Oxford Garage where William Morris had first operated his Bicycle and Motor Cycle business, was experiencing management upheavals as a result of a series of resignations. When Carl Breedon withdrew, Kimber successfully urged Morris to appoint him in-charge, and he found himself with the title of General Manager. He immediately brought a new energy to the Garage and displayed a talent for taking a basic Morris and producing a superficially bespoke special motor car. The evolution to a discrete car that could be considered completely MG took several years, towards the end of 1923 Kimber fitted six standard Cowley chassis with Raworth two-seater bodies, which some historians regard as the first MG. However the first official appearance of the octagonal badge was in May 1924, a date stated by Morris and Kimber as it’ s “first use”, in their application, to have the new badge registered, early in 1928.
The story continues with the construction of MG’s first factory, as the production of the “sporty” versions of Morris donor vehicles had out-grown a series of temporary premises. The Edmonds Road Factory opened September 1927, just as William Morris began reorganising his various operating units. Morris Garages Ltd was registered, along with The MG Car Company, in a move to separate Kimber’s activities from Morris general business. These changes were publically announced in early 1928. New cars produced at Edmonds Road were at last identifiable with a MG chassis plate – Finally here was the manifestation of the MG as a marque in its own right. In August 1928 Morris introduced their baby Morris Minor with its Wolseleydesigned OHC engine. Kimber lost no time in sending a prototype Minor to Carbodies of Coventry with instructions to fit it with an open two-seater fabric covered ash-framed sports body. Other changes included suspension, steering column rake, Hartford shock absorbers and the MG M-type Midget came into being – a name which would go on to become central to the MG story for the next five decades. The Midget’s success caught Kimber by surprise as he was concentrating on his desire to produce a larger and more powerful-engined sports car, but that would eventually come later.
By 1929, less than two years since the factory opened it was bursting at the seams with the success of the Midget. Another move was necessary and the solution lay in the disused war-time factory of the Pavlova Leather Works in Abingdon-onThames.
From here the author traces the successes and failures up to when wartime demands severely curtailed the manufacture of cars just as the MG TB model was introduced. Unfortunately, the tools and jigs for it were destroyed during Luftwaffe bombing of Coventry, necessitating a new chassis design and suspension system when hostilities ceased. Postwar recovery was heralded with the arrival of a much improved TC and soon the TD. By now the Austin and Morris enterprises were being encouraged to join forces and eventually merged in 1951. The implications for MG under this new management structure and the inevitable personality clashes, coupled with the ever-changing political climate leading up to the grand merger of BLMC, make fascinating reading. The author has captured the essence of the power struggles, and ego clashes ultimately leading to the eventual closure of Abingdon and abandonment of the MGB. The narrative is interesting, without going into excessive detail.
From here the book charts the various monumental decisions leading to the eventual downfall of the indigenous British Motor Industry and the disappearance of many of once extremely well recognised marques. It covers the eventual sale of the Rover Group to the Europeans and their ultimate disposal of production equipment to Nanjing Automotive Corporation, who in a strange twist also acquired the intellectual rights to the famous MG badge.
This is a large format book crammed with stunning photography and hitherto unpublished images complied from a very wide range of archives including a large collection from the author.
The Library Team
Veteran Section Notes
We had apologies from David Oliver and Peter Alderdice. I thanked Phil Henley, David Lane and Gavin Welch for bringing their veterans, the 1913 Mitchell and two Model T's to the meeting.
Chair Shaaran held some discussion on the forthcoming Veteran Run and answered questions, including the availability of trailer parking at Swanson RSA.
Phil Henley had his 1913 Mitchell at the Waikato Veteran Run, he reports the car is going well after some retuning. Gavin was satisfied with the performance of his Model T in the Browns Bay Christmas Parade, it didn't overheat.
Mike Courtney discussed the Chev 490 and the 1909 Maxwell he brought at the auction in Gore.
Shaaran’s talk on the Veteran Run has inspired Mike to see if he can get the 1909 Sizaire et Naudin running in time for the event.
Denis Lowe has fixed an oil leak in the 1903 Oldsmobile and has given attention to the carburettor needle. Denis also brought a miners lamp for display.
Russell Vincent is getting his Model T coupe ready for the veteran run. Roy Sharman brought along a Rolls Safety Razor for display, I doubt this has any connection with Rolls Royce and it doesn't appear to use disposable blades, it has its own blade sharpener and instructions on how to sharpen it. It is beautifully made and comes in a nickle plated case. Roy also brought an Auto Radiators ash tray. The radiator displayed on it could be Packard, but the experts can fight over this.
Barry Birchall recalled a conversation with the late Joe Tidswell during a flight to Australia in 1970. Joe told Barry about some of the cars he had wrecked in the early years of Auto Parts Ltd, including a Model K Ford and a Rolls Royce. Joe Tidswell did, however, save the 1895 Benz and the Sizaire et Naudin, once owned by the late Don Cameron and now in Australia.
A mention was made of a firm, TANKS Inc, in the USA. They can supply NOS petrol tanks for vintage and classic cars, and are far cheaper than getting tanks made here despite the fact that the $NZ has flaked out against the Greenback.
Regards John
Vintage Section Notes
We wish you all a happy and prosperous new year. The following is the report on our last meeting for 2024.
John Morrison had brought along the non-functioning starter motor off his 1916 Briscoe and as everyone was busy examining it and asking questions before the meeting started, we just carried on from there. The wiring for the device was obviously old and in very bad condition, but something else must have been missing as no one could figure out how it actually worked.
Richard is making steady progress on the Rolls Royce. There was an unsightly patch on the rocker cover where someone in the past had made some sort of modification, possibly to handle excessive oil? Who knows? Anyway, Richard has laser welded a neat little invisible insert to bring it back to standard. There was some discussion on the question of piston rings for these older motors as after-market choices were often used in worn engines to control excessive oil consumption.
Chris Wood told us how honoured he felt to have the owner of a Rolls Royce accompany him on the recent mid-week run in his humble Austin. Actually, the Austin isn’t too shabby! It was the most expensive model of that year and as such is very well appointed. Richard reported that the car went very well – for an Austin!
Norm Dewhurst’s Essex engine is making very slow progress at the re-conditioner’ s – Norm is hoping to use it in March for the Maunga Moana. In the meantime, he is working on the brakes.
Neil Bieleski has his Triumph Herald floorboards out in preparation for fitting the overdrive unit.
Shaun Bellamy’s Model A was in the carpark. Shaun swears by Turtlewax and you couldn’t argue!
John Towers has taken his 1927 Studebaker for a drive with no problem, but his 100 year old Humber which was running is now refusing to start, with no spark and is considering getting the magneto rebuilt – quite an expensive operation. Others present suggested he carefully check and replace the wiring, particularly the HT leads and sparkplugs.
I am often surprised at the number of classic and historic old vehicles parked up in sheds waiting for someone to bring them back to life. If you are the guardian of one of these and need a little encouragement to begin a restoration, then our group is just made for you! As well as the social side of things we exist to share information and resources and give encouragement, so do come along to one of our meetings and tell us about your treasure.
Murray & Penny
Motorcycle Section Notes
Warm and sunny weather graced our journey on Saturday. About a kilometre from Bombay the traffic was at walking pace, quite a lot of traffic was going up to the Bombay Rugby Club, where there was an enormous truck show. After collecting Malcolm Brown at Z, we then joined the motorway madness going North. It was one of those days... There was LOTS of traffic heading into Auckland to either watch the Sail GP at the waterfront, to watch the soccer match at Mt Smart, or see Luke Combs in concert at Eden Park, and to top it all off, the rail network was shutdown until the end of the month.
Luckily committee member Jeremy Lambert had opened up and helped our guest speaker Al Gill bring his 1970 Kawasaki 350 A7 SS into the club-rooms.
We arrived 5 minutes before the start of the meeting. I had a quick look at the great selection of motorcycles in the back car park.
We had around 45 in attendance, Martin welcomed us to the new year. Brian Carkeek supplied a joke for Martin to read out.
VISITORS
Member Julian Jones turned up after a long absence. Ex bike racer Bill Cooney. And it was good to see Don Green on a bike again after his recent back surgery.
REPORTS
Jodi Tomlin told us about the New Years Day Run to Kaiaua, there was a good turn out with 60 vehicles and around 100 people enjoying the food from the fish‘ n ’chip shop and the next door Bay Hotel.
GENERAL BUSINESS
Peter Alderdice spoke about our group of riders that will be going down to the National Motorcycle Rally in the Manawatu.
Jodi passed on Loretta McGarry’s best wishes to all the members for 2025.
GUEST SPEAKER
Member Al Gill had brought along a rare 1970 Kawasaki 350 A7 SS disk valve twin from his collection. When Al bought the bike it was complete but in
Motorcycle
Section Notes continued
a very sad condition. The previous owner had welded the kick start to its shaft when the splines had stripped. He managed to fix this problem, he had the crankshaft rebuilt and new pistons fitted, working on the disk valves and carburettors was a nightmare. The bike is fitted with a stainless steel exhaust system and stainless mudguards. The paint job on the tank and side panels was expensive! The bike handles very well, and is very fast for a 1970’s bike. Bike racer Paul Pavletich was visiting Al and saw the Kawasaki and fell in love with it, he made Al an offer which was accepted so the bike will be joining Paul's collection very soon.
Al then told us about his first bikes, the first was an ex WW2 army Norton that he rode at the age of nine to school in Australia, He bought around 10 BSA Bantams for 2 pounds each, and resold them at a profit, he started racing bikes on the dirt in his teenage years, and was very successful. He worked for a Honda dealership for a while. He owned the very first Japanese bike sold in NSW. Al and his family moved to Canada to start a new life, this was a very testing time moving from the heat of Ausi to the very cold of Canada. Al has had British Triumphs Norton's and BSA’s. Al and his son have a good collection of Japanese bikes here and in Canada, he thinks that around a 1000 bikes have passed through his hands.
Al answered a number of questions from the floor, the meeting closed at 3.45pm. Martin thanked Al for his interesting talk.
Martin Spicer and Jack Clark.
Al’s other hobby painting. This painting is of Al, himself, dirt track racing.
The bike line-up in the back yard for the first meeting of the year.
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March 15 to 21, 2026
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A most sincere welcome is extended to the most recent new members. We hope to see you taking an active part in Branch activities whenever possible. Should you require any assistance or advice, please feel free to ask any Committee member?
Andrew Barry Allan Grant Dannemora Papakura 1936 Chevrolet Coupe 1991 Mazda MX5 1938 Oldsmobile F38
Cleavon Whittfield Rod Clarke Meadowbank Waiuku 1931 Chevrolet 1966 Chevrolet Corvair 1936 Chevrolet
Annmarie Jamieson Parnell 1965 Volvo P1800
STAYS FLEXIBLE
Will never crack or peel off.
ALCOHOL RESISTANT
No expensive come-backs.
BRIGHT COLOUR
You can see results.
COVERS RUST
Seals old rust in and prevents future rusting.
SEALS LEAKS
Gets the multitude of pin-holes you can ’t find.
Chairman
Your
Committee & Officers
Shaaran Price (Alan) Email: birdwoodprices@gmail.com
Vice Chairman/Continuous Membership Awards Steward
Glenn Morris (Marion) Email: glenn-maze@xtra.co.nz
H: 09 833 8575
M: 0204 195 2476
M: 021 136 5926
Secretary / New Members & Privacy Offcr / Bulletin & Website Editor / Branch Delegate
Jodi Tomlin (Paul) Secretary Email: auckland@vcc.org.nz
Treasurer
Ian Hubbard (Lesley)
M: 021 678 258 Editor Email: avvcceditor@gmail.com
Email: iant120@outlook.com
Club Captain / Trophy Steward
Tracey Winterbottom Email: runnymede@hotmail.co.nz
M: 0274 426 748
H: 09 232 0246 (Stephen)
Committee Members
Martin Spicer (Lynda)
Motorcycle Section Rep/Entertainment
Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com
Lynda Spicer (Martin) Social Convenor
M: 021 732 209
H: 09 233 6382
M: 022 102 5954
H: 09 233 6382 Email: spicerclan2017@gmail.com
Jeremy Lambert (Michelle) Clubroom Bookings/ Health & Safety Officer
M: 021 189 3120
M: 027 576 7045 Email: velo500@icloud.com
Rory King (Louann) Building Maintenance
Email: roryking53@gmail.com
Neil Stott (Christine) Spares Liaison
Non-Committee Positions
Library Team Leader
Richard Green (Lois)
H: 09 579 6891
M: 021 530 302
M: 0274 949 059 Email: neilxstott@gmail.com
Spares Team Leader
Bill Hulse (Sherrill)
Email: randlgreen@orcon.net.nz
H: 09 489 2427
M: 021 818 334
Beaded Wheels Scribes
John Stokes
Jocelyn McAlpine
Peter Wood
Insurance
Email: bill.sherrill@xtra.co.nz
H: 09 579 0494
Veteran Section Rep & VIC Officer
John Stokes
Mid-Week Tourers Rep
Jack Nazer (Marilyn)
Email: jack_nazer@yahoo.co.nz
H: 09 378 4580
Vintage Section Rep
Murray Firth (Penny)
Email: jcstokes96a@xtra.co.nz E: pennyandmurray@xtra.co.nz
H: 09 236 4582 or
H: 09 818 6434 M: 0272 772 108
Vero Consumer Insurance Specialist F: 0800 505 905 or B: 09 356 4501 Agency Number: 0300126
Clubrooms Phone: 09 579 5625
Street Address: 39 Fairfax Ave, Penrose
Postal Address: PO Box 12 138, Penrose, Auckland 1642
Club Night: 4th Thursday of the month
Open: 2nd & 4th Thursday 7:30-10:00pm, Every Saturday 4:30-6:30 pm
Branch Email Address: auckland@vcc.org.nz Branch Website: www.avvcc.org.nz
Library Email Address: libraryavvcc@gmail.com
Branch Honorary Life Members: Barry Robert
Norm Dewhurst QSM
